Emiliano Zapata, (born Aug. 8, 1879, Anenecuilco, Mex.—died April 10, 1919, Morelos), Mexican revolutionary and champion of the rural poor. A mestizo peasant, he was orphaned at age 17 and took responsibility for his brothers and sisters. He led his neighbours in protests against the hacienda that had appropriated their land and eventually led them in taking the land by force. He organized a small force to help Francisco Madero unseat Porfirio Díaz. Dissatisfied with the pace of land reform under Madero, Zapata led a guerrilla campaign that took land back from the haciendas and returned it to the communal Indian ejidos. He was instrumental in the defeat of Gen. Victoriano Huerta after Huerta deposed and assassinated Madero. With Pancho Villa he occupied Mexico City and began to implement land reform, but he was tricked, ambushed, and killed by the forces of Venustiano Carranza, whom the U.S. had recognized as president.
